


The demon she cherished

by MayonnaiseDragon



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-25 19:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18581062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayonnaiseDragon/pseuds/MayonnaiseDragon
Summary: In the world of Pokémon and mystery dungeons, there stands the Water dojo, a symbol and institution of power. Standing at its peak is Aja the Demon, the greninja known for futhlessly defeating countless adversaries. Nothing would prepare her from Lois the Buizel, as the little water type challenges her over and over again, to date her?Read on, as the story tells of colourful characters, as the unlikely ship sails on through uncharted waters. Will Lois have her love returned? Or, will her recklessness catch her up?





	The demon she cherished

Another powerful explosion rocks the dojo, as yet another fighter has approached. Aja, the Water dojo master has been challenged once again. With each powerful move, the Greninja overpowered the young Buizel who dared to question her position.

“Return to whence you came. Your time is up, and your revive seed will return you to your guild.” she declares. “Maybe, one day you may even have a chance of coming close to defeating me.” Her water shurikens drowned Buizel in impacts, fatally wounding her with multiple lesions and great internal bleeding.

“Never! I will never give up!” the young Buizel replies. “My energy may be out, but the fire within still burns! I will return soon once again, with the same burning spirit. My name is Lois, and I swear on both my name and my pride, that one day…   
  
I take you as my own.”

“...”   
Aja stands there in shock.   
“I TOLD YOU FOR THE LAST TIME I WILL NEVER ACCEPT YOUR STUPID PROPOSALS!!!!!”

With one final cast of explosive darkness, the ground itself recoiled with tremors. The place where the Lois just stood, was charred by a streak of cursed energy. As Aja slowly calmed down from combat, she took one big breath in.

“WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS, CHALLENGING THE GREAT DOJO OF AJA, ONLY TO INSULT ME WITH THIS FRIVOLOUS NONSENSE!!!!! NEXT TIME I WILL DESTROY HER SO HORRIFICALLY SHE WILL NEVER DESIRE EVEN TO STEP FOOT ON THIS CURSED WORLD!!!!!”

To the side, the dojo janitors were a bit concerned. “Master is cursing the Buizel again. Is she going to be okay?”

* * *

 

It was another busy day for Oshy, who was trying to make his way around the guild. Trying to pick up chores from lazy teams, and doing research for the guild, was an impossible thing to balance between his mandatory classes. Who ever said being a trainee was easy?

If as an insult to injury, he had to go to the revive bay for personal matters, relating to a certain someone. For most, the revive bay was a symbol of pride to a guild, showing that they have the infrastructure and spare energy to grow revive seeds, which are an essential item when exploring the infamously dangerous mystery dungeons. Walking past this room should give a sense of security and pride, but for Oshy, it reminded him of his misfortune.

“Hello! Welcome to the Revive bay! Are you here for...”   
“Yes. I am here for Lois. Again.”   
The receptionist is a bit confused. “She is a trainee isn't she? Why is she dying so often?”   
“She has been trying to conquer the Water Dojo. Again.”   
“Oh my! Such a brave soul to challenge Aja the Demon herself! Even an old lady like me have heard of her feats and strength! I just hope she’s okay! Just sign your name here, and she is in the room 12 to your left.”

Oshy is now standing in front of a crude medical bed, looking down at the degenerate he has to care for. She was snoring, so Oshy woke her up with a water blast. Her face was flushed bright red, and muttering to herself. “Oh my god! Aja is the cutest thing ever! You should have seen her face when she cast her famous Void Clearing move on me!~~~”

“You do know she is a girl too right?”   
“True love has no boundaries! Tomorrow I swear, she will realize what she is missing, and our relationship will blossom!” she squeals.   
If only the world could understand his pain, Oshy wondered, as he endures another long stream of indirect flirting to Aja. What in Arceus’ name did he do in his past life to deserve this?

“I need to catch you up on the lesson you missed while you were chasing your improbable love.”   
“What is there left to teach, to someone who has already learnt what they desire in life!”   
Oshy slaps Lois in the face.

* * *

 

The water dojo is an extremely powerful establishment, outstripping even small guilds in raw and political power. Aja has clawed her way to the top, and reigned as the most powerful water and dark type for decades. If someone defeats her, they are able to take this feudal position of the modern day. This is the reason many of the strongest have challenged her in the past, however none had ever defeater her. It is everyone’s dream to hold the influence of the Demon’s position, except for one…

“Oh, a challenger has arrived? You are rather young to have made it through my 5 disciples. Tell me young one. What is it that drives you so hard to want to take my position? Is it power? Money? Greed?”

“I’m looking at her.” Lois responds, in a blush.   
Aja groans a bit. “What is it actually that you are here for?”

“I come from the Blast Guild, and am here to challenge you, Aja the Demon! Defeating you according to the terms will allow me to take the position of Master in this Dojo, the true position of power in this world.” Lois declares. “I will use my new power, to declare my hand of love to you! Aja!”

Aja blew her up.

* * *

 

“That was how we first met! It brings a tear of nostalgia every time!”   
Oshy wondered if his ability to breath underwater would stop him from drowning his sorrows some other way, in a desperate attempt to preserve his sanity.

“Anyways, before I can even propose, I need to defeat her! Her attacks are too complex to defend against! Oshy, can you help brainstorm how I can avoid her Void Clearing move?”   
“Don’t be too loud, we are in the library right now.” Oshy reminds her.   
“Well, she just casts her moves too quickly to even counter right now, so I think I just need to train my speed for a while. I could also see what moves I am compatible with to improve my speed.”

“If you haven’t missed today’s lessons on aura, maybe you would know how to.”   
“I will just catch up in my own time. Do you have a summary?”   
Oshy sighed, as he re-read his notes.“Aura is basically your life essence. Being alive, we naturally create energy in 16 different types, which we use to create our moves. Being water type pokemon, we mainly have water energy, which can create water on command. We can still use other moves, but it requires specific training to use a energy type we lack affinity with.”   
“No! There goes trying to use a sleeping attack! I need to see how I can improve my raw speed for next tomorrow then.”

“Hold on. How many times have you made it to Aja?”   
“I failed to give her something during my 15th visit, so counting from that I think my next attempt with be the 17th. I can’t remember.”   
“Pervert.”   
“Hey!”

“I swear, if the guild leaders knows the reason their star trainee’s sole motivation is to try and take legendary Aja’s hand in marriage, I wonder what their reactions would be? I wonder how they might react?”

“Don’t you dare tell them.”   
“I won’t.”   
“If you do...” she said as she snatched Oshy’s notebook from him, “I will show everyone you have a mermaid obsession!”   
“I already said I won’t!”   
“What kind of degenerate would draw a Suicune without hind legs?”   
“Give the notebook back!”   
“Nope! I am keeping this!” she says, as she ran off.

The guild librarian looked up from her book, and saw Oshy chasing Lois out the door. “I see our top trainees seem to get along just fine!~~”

* * *

 

With the prize of both glory and power for those who defeat Aja, it is no surprise many have tried. However, for many who even take on the life-and-death challenge the dojo offers, almost all will fail before even catching a glimpse of her. The 5 Demon Disciples of Aja, have to be faced first on their floor of the dojo, as you slowly make it to the top floor. You are give no time to rest, and are already battle hardened before you are given the chance to fight Aja.

However with the disciples’ monstrous strength, even getting to begin a fight with Aja would be a symbol of true power and strength, however it is rather suspicious that Lois has managed to make it up to the top floor 17 times.

“Hi Aja! How are you doing! I figured I would drop my a bit earlier today!” she blurts in happiness noises.   
“What?”   
“Give your little girl a little hug!”   
“No.” as Aja cast a defensive ice barrier between them.   
“Aaaaaah! So cold Aja! How could you treat someone like that!”

How could she not even be intimidated after being killed so many times? It was a thought which confused Aja. There isn’t even a slight amount of caution as she tries to carve her way through the ice sheet to get to her. Even when she is under the protection of a revive seed, dying is still incredibly painful.

“While I respect your strength at such a young age, it slightly baffles me how you are able to make it to the top floor so often. What is your secret?”   
“Training and love!”   
“That is not what I mean. How are you able to dispatch my disciples so easily?”   
“Oh, they don’t bother fighting me anymore.”   
“What?!”

* * *

 

“Good morning Lois! A little early today I see.”   
“Yep! How are you doing Prima!”   
“Doing fine! We both know where this battle is going to go, so feel free to just run up along those stairs. Pretend you are a bit worn out okay?”   
“Thanks!”

* * *

 

“... and that was how it went today!” recounts Lois.   
“What am I even training them for!? Are they even trying to stop you?”   
“Yeah! The Swampert on the third floor challenged me to a short fight today, because he wanted a rematch from yesterday!”

Aja faced the wall in disappointment. What are these idiots doing being friends with the enemy?! She took one final look at Lois’ smug and unendingly trusting face.

A couple floors below, the disciples were having a short snack break as the combat closes upstairs.   
“Do you hear the explosion too?”   
“Yep. I’m sure Lois had her fun again.”   
“I feel bad for the janitors who have to repair the wall each time.”

* * *

 

The revive bay was rather crowded today, with the Blast guild preventing farmland from being destroyed by a large scale fire. While there were only a few deaths, the recoil of being revived is extremely painful and disorienting, requiring intensive care for in some cases days.

This hasn’t really reached the ears of Lois, as Oshy wakes her up again after being destroyed again by Aja.   
“How are you managing to deal with the revive recoil? You seem to recover after a couple minutes.”   
“There is no pain the power of love can’t overpower!”   
“Of course. And does the power of love dictates that you will cover our room with every Aja poster you find?”   
“Love takes many shapes, don’t you agree?”

As Oshy signed her out from the bay as usual, a revelation suddenly struck Oshy.   
“Wait how are you able to pay the challenging fee? You go there almost daily!”   
“You only need to pay for the revival seed you get given!”   
“Yeah? What do you think makes up most of the cost?”   
“If you are a guild member, you get discounts! Because the dojo buys revival seeds from the guild, guild members don’t have to!”   
  


“Wait… if a revival seed is about 2 months average pay… and you have gone about 40 times, it means you are to the guild…”   
“A cost of 40,000 coins a year!” she replies.   
“Why are you proud of that?!”

Oshy went through the large binder of revive bay records to count exactly how many times Lois has died to the dojo. While the public records don’t go back far enough for privacy reasons, there was something weirder Oshy discovered.   
“Hold up here Lois… You are the only one listed here to be revived for ‘combat related death’ in the past month.”   
“So?”   
“YOU HAVE LITERALLY BEEN THE ONLY ONE CHALLENGING AJA FOR MONTHS!!!!”   
“Oh my! Her love is uncontested!~~” she smiled with a romantic bliss.   
Oshy slapped her in the face with the record book.

* * *

 

Aja is not the first name to come to mind to hold a meeting herself. She was always known for skipping even lunches with ministers of large towns, or leaving meetings before they have finished. However, in her  room on the top floor of the dojo, a discussion was just heating up.   
“That doesn’t justify giving her a free pass to fight me! What the hell am I training you for?!” shouted Aja in justified rage.

Aja’s 5 disciples were sitting with her on a round table, as she interrogates the source to how a little squirt has managed to make it through these 5 blithering idiots.   
“Aja…” begins the Tentacruel, “Your training, and this sacred water dojo, enables us to service the community and the greater land, utilizing our abilities for the people of… ”   
With one smooth motion, Aja throws Cryl through the dojo walls, out of the building into the water.

“If any of you want to be a smartass like him, please speak up!”   
The Lapras spoke up. “With all due respect ma’am, she has beaten us multiple times. I don’t see much purpose in fighting her again, as dying does hurt quite a bit.”   
“It is true Aja.” says the Slowking. “Despite her above average high stats, she has beaten all of us at least once.”   
“That doesn’t give you permission to just let her walk up without repercussions! Prima! How the hell did you even get defeated?”

A slow gaze from across the table reveals emerald eyes, harbouring the serenity of a calm ocean behind it. The Primarina decided to voice her opinion.   
“Well it is true that I let her defeat me without my full strength, however this isn’t without justification.”   
Aja was more than angry to listen what justifies this insubordination.   
“Aja?” she asks. “Don’t you believe that you have gotten a bit gloomier over the years? Without a way to release your stress from work, all of us here, including Cryl, believe you should give Lois a credit.”

“How so?” Aja growls.   
“Well… every time adorable little Lois comes up, you always have a fun time with her. Don’t you agree?” Prima teases with a smile.   
Aja’s face flushed bright red.   
“HOW CAN AN ANNOYING WEAKLING LIKE HER EVEN COME CLOSE TO GIVING A GOOD FIGHT!!! I CAN’T EVEN RELAX KNOWING THAT IMBECILE WILL HARASS ME ANY TIME SHE LIKES!!!”   
Behind the stoic faces of the disciples, they are all silently loving how Aja isn’t rejecting Lois is cute.

* * *

 

“Lois, remind me why you are taking me to the dojo? You can’t challenge Aja as a group.”   
“Oshy. Do you actually think the only reason I would go to the dojo, is to challenge Aja?”   
Oshy didn’t answer that.   
“Well, don’t worry! I will tell you what we are doing, once we get signed up!”   
“Wait. For what?”

“I will tell you something cool before we get to the dojo. Can you remind me what makes Aura special to pokemon?”   
“I would like better if you showed up to classes. Aura is the natural life force of pokemon, and what makes us different to plants and rock.”   
“Well, ”   
“Wait, like a guitar string?”   
“Yeah! It is almost like an instrument! It vibrates in a certain way, and because of that, your body can create type energy! Because our aura is unique to ourselves, we can only create a certain range of type energies, and based on the song we play, we can use the move which the song corresponds to!”   
“I think I read something about this in a book somewhere, but you sound like a different person when you sound smart.”

“I will pretend I didn’t hear that. The waveform is very unique for each pokemon, which is why every pokemon from the same species looks the same! Have you ever thought of that?”   
“I can’t say I haven’t wondered.” replied Oshy.   
“The wave gets larger as you get stronger, and eventually, some waves may find a different natural frequency and waveform to follow instead! This is what happens when we evolve, as our bodies take a different form!”

Oshy was rather surprised at this level of detail. His mind is slowly trying to process what this implies to be pokemon. His mind is screaming for answers to new questions which are appearing. After a solid minute of standing there, he finally asks the most important question. “Does this mean it is impossible for me to evolve into a Primarina?”   
Right as they got to the dojo entrance, Lois slapped him in the face.

The dojo itself was massive and grand, stretching high above where they were standing. It was as if Kyogre himself had returned, and blasted all of his strength. The architecture was blue, with highlights of red, creating a rather imperial feel to this historical building. Despite many attacks on it through history, every part of its pristine design has been perfectly preserved.

“Welcome to the Water doj… oh it is you again.” The receptionist at the front desk was used to Lois’ regular face.   
“Hello!”   
“If you want to challenge her again, please sign your guild number on this…”   
“I am here to train this time! With my friend Oshy!” Oshy didn’t have any time to get a word in edgeways.   
“Well, I am afraid if you haven’t made an appointment, you cannot train with any of the teachers.”   
“Hear that Lois? I will now head back to the guild, cus I have some work to do… what are you doing now?”

Lois was seen running up the stairs to the top floors.   
“NO! YOU CANNOT GO THAT WAY!!” The receptionist fell over turning around.   
Just as Lois reached the top of the flight however, a large tremor resonated throughout the building, throwing her back down into Oshy’s unprepared arms.   
“What was that for!? You could have killed me!”   
“Look Oshy!”

There was a Swampert standing in front of them, imposing and powerful. His stance emanated both crude power and a controlled rage.   
The receptionist was lost for words. “S… S…”   
“YES IT IS ME!! THE THIRD DEMON DISCIPLE OF AJA: SWAMP THE SWAMPERT!!!!”

* * *

 

The morning sun shined overhead, and with it thawing the last small fridgids of winder along with it, as to usher in spring in the coming week. For many, the sign of sun was a grant of happiness, providing a sunny yet relaxing atmosphere for all those near the shore. For Aja however, it was anything but.

“The citizens of my town deserve more than to be abandoned in this year of bad harvest!”   
“Are you going to ignore how we are suffering from the same drought?”   
“And tell me how your capital gain from trying to buy up land doesn’t contribute as a conflict of interest?”   
These children, Aja thought, need to stop shouting mindlessly.

The noon sun cast no direct light through the windows, while the spittle from shouting choked the room with an ungodly stench. What are these idiots of people doing, trying to fight with such meaningless words?

Because of the dojo’s significance in providing stability to the region, it held the daily meeting of all town representatives and city officials in the region. It was a mess of power struggles, shouting, and occasionally trying to butter up to her. Every single day, the meeting is set to be an hour, but the laws of arrogance and deafening yelling drags it into 3. It was a sickening sight to her, seeing weaklings drowning in their arrogance.

There are no shortage of stories of how the demon herself has managed to rise to her power. From years of training, she has undoubtedly earned and defended her position from all who challenged her. Even with this, somehow these greedy and corrupt officials think they can earn a cheeky favour, just by offering sneakily superficial trade deals.

Despite this, she knows that if she destroys everyone in this room, as they should rightfully deserve, the region will collapse once again into territorial war. She bites her tongue just a bit harder, and tries to survive her torture until it’s over.

“What happened to the good old days, without so many annoying people around me?” she complains. The crowd of officials were too preoccupied to pick up on that insult, and carried on shouting. As Aja’s mind wandered, she pondered. “I wonder if she is thinking about me even now?”

* * *

 

“Only Aja herself, will be allowed to defeat me!” challenged Lois.   
“Why are you doing this?” Oshy asked, in panic. “Aren’t we here just to train?”   
“A true battle, is the best trainer!”   
“Thank you!” he replied sarcastically. “Why is it then, you decided to challenge one of the Demon Disciples?”   
“To defeat him!”   
Oshy just gave up.

“HAHAHAHAA!!! I LOVE YOUR SIMPLE ATTITUDE!!!” bellowed Swampy. “I HEARD YOUR RETURN TO THE DOJO, AND SIMPLY COULDN’T MISS THE CHANCE TO FINALLY DEFEAT YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!”   
“Wait, you mean Lois never lost against you!?” Oshy asks in astonishment.   
“How little confidence do you have in me Oshy!”   
“To be honest, none at all.”

“BEING A REGULAR DOJO SPAR, THE RULES ARE FIRST TO KNOCK THE OTHER UNCONSCIOUS FOR 10 SECONDS!!! THERE IS NO PUNISHMENT FOR CALLING A MINUTE TIMEOUT!!! DO YOU ACCEPT???”   
“I accept! Oshy, do you want to watch?”   
“I mean, sure go ahead. I’m not going to not watch you get pummeled.”   
“FIVE…   
FOUR…   
THREE…

* * *

 

To Oshy, the ensuing combat was beyond anything he has ever seen. Despite never having seen Lois in a fight himself, he had heard of stories of Lois’ incredible speed from others. Seeing her fight in person however, is another sight all together.

Her each and every step cuts the air, landing powerful punches, stunning the air with each contact. His eyes could barely follow her after-image before she seems to teleport to a new blindspot on her opponent. Swampy is not just any opponent however, as he skillfully dodges and blocks, mitigating each attempt at damage.

Oshy is seeing how much of a weakness being a water-ground type is. His large body made his move sluggish, and hard to block quick attacks with. Even when he is using water moves, they are not that effective against its own type, with Lois shrugging off the weaker attacks she can’t dodge. Why is it then, are his natural instincts telling him Swampy will win?

It was just then, Oshy had solved the mystery.

When a pokemon exerts their Water type energy into the air, this creates water in thin air. The stream of water is created by the sheer volume you are compressing into a single space. This makes water pump moves inherently inefficient, because of the energy lost making the beam.   
However, while ground type energy cannot be exerted into the air, it can cause tremors when put into the ground. On the top floors of the dojo, this would cause a structural collapse, however being on the ground floor…

“LOIS!! GET BACK!!!!”   
“What?”   
“HAHA!! IT IS TOO LATE!!! MY FINAL ATTACK HAS BEEN CHARGED!!!!”   
Swampy summoned a huge amount of water, filling the entire dojo’s bottom floor with a meter of water. The feeble attempts to stop the flow of water were overthrown by the sheer volume being summoned. At its centre, there was a surge of energy being inserted into the ground.

The evacuation bells were ringing, as everyone but Lois left the ground floor.   
“WITNESS MY QUAKING TSUNAMI!!!” he yelled.   
There is no other description of what happened, but the ground exploded. The sudden earthquake released a ton of energy into the lake Swampy had summoned, forcing several tons of rapid-white water into Lois’s direction, washing over her in an instant. The resulting freak wave completely blew open the entrance of the building, looking like someone had punched a hole through rice paper.

As the water subsided, the lobby was barely recognizable, with fragments of wood and building scattered in every corner of the room. In contrast, Lois was nowhere to be seen.   
“I HAVE DEFEATED HER!!! HAHAHA!!!”   
As he stood up to celebrate his victory, there was a swift kick into the back of his neck.

* * *

 

If anyone worked at the dojo for more than a couple months, they will be able to cite why there are extremely high maintenance costs of a somewhat ancient building. It wasn’t the labour cost, nor the material cost, but because of how often things needed to get repaired. Not from external attacks either, but from the dojo members destroying everything on a regular basis.

“Oshy! I won!!” said Lois, standing on an unconscious Swampert.   
“How did you survive that wave?”   
“I shot myself with a large amount of water right before the wave hit! Because of the high pressure I was under, the tsunami’s impact was lessened, as the water cushioned me from it. It was then a simple job of sneaking around him after he thought I had lost!”

Oshy noted never to get into a fight with this crazy Buizel.

* * *

 

“So, how was the meeting Aja?”   
“It was cut short because one of my idiots downstairs decided to fight full strength indoors. It was a fun sight seeing those town monkeys run out of the shaking building, so I allowed it.”   
“It really has been too long since we have last sat down for tea together.”   
“Indeed.”

Sitting opposite Aja, was Blast. He is a renowned Blastoise, a hero of his region, leading his guild to follow in his footsteps to help the greater area. Stories tell of the Blastoise who was able to challenge the Demon in his prime, however in reality they were just close friends.

“So how is things over with your guild? Everything under control I assume?”   
“Well, the drought hit pretty hard in the north regions, however my guild members aren’t one to slack off I can tell you that!” he chucked, slamming his foot repeatedly into the ground. “We supplied relief for the worst affected regions!”   
“The building isn’t going to survive for another hundred years if you continue that.”   
“I will just ask Blaze to fix it! He can’t say no to someone like me!”   
“I haven’t seen him in quite a while, and don’t plan to either.”

Blast takes another sip of his tea and sighs. she has changed so much since he first met her so many years ago, when she was still a Frogadier. She was rather weak at the time, with a basic grasp on water moves. At this time, her eyes shined with determination and was cloaked with greed for strength. While her eyes lost their original demon-like appearance, it was replaced with one of stress and fatigue.

“How is your work? You seem rather worse for wear.”   
“Same old. You won’t believe what those baboons are arguing over this time. By Arceus’ name I can’t live through another one of those dreadful meetings.” Aja replied, taking another sip.   
“Anything new?”   
“Oh right!”

She stood up.   
“One of your idiot guild members keeps trying to defeat me! It is driving me nuts!”   
“Oh? Who wants to see someone as ugly as you?”   
Aja ignored his insult. “Lois, Buizel. She comes practically daily, giving me another chore to deal with! You won’t even believe what she tries to do.”   
“Lois? Our trainee?”   
“Wait. She is but a trainee?”

“Haha!” laughs Blast, and he explodes in laughter. “I can’t believe that is the reason behind her missing classes!”   
Aja groans in disappointment. “I can’t believe such a lowlife has destroyed my dojo’s integrity.”   
“I will tell you a little secret about her, okay?” Blast began. “She may just be a trainee in the guild, but she was actually brought here from a rescue mission. What is more is the Oshawott from the town nearby signed up with her! Who could have predicted our new star members would join under such weird circumstances!”

“Wait… rescued?”   
“She was from a gang who were sending children to gather materials from mystery dungeons. She was the oldest of the 4 rescued, and I felt sorry I couldn’t save her any sooner. I was scared she would never regain the colour in her eyes.”   
Aja averted her look, playing awkwardly with her cup.

“Don’t feel uncomfortable! This is all in the past anyways! Right now she is our bubbly, diamond-in-the-rough in the trainee team! I think I have to give her a proper recruitment contract sometime very soon if she keeps this up!”   
“Yes… I’m sure she would like that… ” she replies, looking off in the distance.   
“Of course Aja, if you want…” began Blast, with a teasing grin on his face, “I could send her to your dojo? I'm sure you won’t be able to publicly reject a personal recommendation. How would you like tha…”   
With one smooth motion, Aja throws Blast through the recently repaired wall, out of the building into the water.

* * *

 

“Name?”   
“Oshy.”   
“Occupation?”   
“Guild trainee, and Idiot babysitter.”   
“Misdemeanor?”   
“Hold up! I didn’t do anything wrong here!”

The dojo ground floor was littered with debris and puddles of water, with a general atmosphere of dust still lingering. The dojo had only just resumed operation, as people tried to continue whatever they were supposed to do before the catastrophe. Someone was responsible for this, and unfortunately for Oshy, she had already ran off.

The large Lapras was sitting next to the unconscious Swampert, interrogating the innocent water type. “The receptionist told me that you and the alleged perpetrator were associated, so naturally we needed to question you. If it makes you feel any better, my name is Paras, one of the 5 main disciples of the dojo.”   
“Alright. As long as I don’t get into trouble.”   
“Can you identify the alleged?”   
“If you mean the idiot, her name is Lois.”

The Lapras giggled for a second. “Oh, she came back? Where is she now?”   
“She ran that way.”   
Oshy pointed at the stairs leading up.   
“Wait! Oh no! Aja is currently not able to accept visitors! We need to get her back and…”   
If almost on cue, a Buizel tumbled down the stairs like a ragdoll, unconscious.

“Lois!” cried Oshy. “Sorry for not answering your questions Ms. Paras, but I need to get her back to the guild for medical attention!”   
It was not a pleasant sight. The cause for her collapse was a fractured leg bone, however there were worse things to notice than that. Her body had many discoloured patches, while her breath was extremely short. Each small nudge caused her unconscious body to wince and twitch in a painful reaction.   
“Reception! Can I get a revive seed!?”   
“Sorry! Revive seeds must be paired with the user while they are still conscious!”

Oshy lifted her body onto his shoulders, fireman carry. There was a slim chance, but if he could get back to the guild in time, Lois could be saved! Why did he allow her to fight knowing how she normally ends up!   
“Oshy, return this instant!”   
Despite this, he kept pressing on.

Paras cast an ice wall, blocking the entrance.   
“What was that for!? Don’t you know what I am trying to do!?”   
A new voice replied. “Don’t worry child.”   
Oshy turned around. “Huh?”

In front of him, was a floating deity. She was beautiful, no, there is no possible descriptor which could capture the emotional response he has.   
“My name is Prima little one. Don’t worry. I can heal the young one’s wounds.”   
Her voice was silk to the ears, and a relaxant to the mind. The Primarina which had descended from the heavens above had come to save his dear friend’s life, and his heart feels like it is about to explode.

“There we go. Fairy energy is rather unique, however when applied to a body, it can rapidly heal even the most fatal of wounds. Considering the difficulty to apply energy to someone else, and how rare fairy types are, healing in such a way is not a sight you can see every day little one.”   
“Prima? I hate to interrupt your lengthy speeches, but I think the little one you are talking about is crying.”   
In response to Paras’ words, she looked up from her treatment to see a mess of an otter wailing in front of her.

* * *

 

“Do you have anything to talk about? Or are we sitting here for another few minutes in total silence?”   
“You are the one who dropped in uninvited and asked me why I was feeling down! Don’t complain if you asked for it you old fart!”   
“Hey! I may be old, but I look young for someone in their late 40s!”   
“Nonsense! You claimed you are in your 40s for the last twenty years!”

The thin-figured Blaziken couldn’t contain his laughter, clearly amused with his casual teasing of an old friend. The Greninja glared at him to fooling around, but he clearly isn’t going to stop.   
“I don’t even know how your guild is staying afloat with you sitting on the top of it.”   
“Well, I have lots of great people running it for me you see!”   
“Lazy.”   
“I call it being resourceful.”

Blaze is not someone who you will see very often. Being an old disciple under him, has shown Aja his many faces countless times, most of them being some variation on lazy and annoying. He has rarely ever showed up on his own volition however, so there must be some reason behind his visit.

The inherent awkwardness in the air however, couldn’t be dispelled that easily. After all, it has been years since they have last talked to each other face to face.   
“This tea is great! Aja, who made this?”   
“Oh, one of my disciples named Cryl. He is a tentacruel with a loose tongue.”   
As punishment for disciple disobedience, Cryl had to use his tentacles to carry the tea Aja and Blaze shared up many flights of stairs.   
“Here… Is… The… Refill… Aja…” he panted out of breath, trying his best not to drop the teapot.   
If seemingly aimed to tease Cryl, Blaze began gulping his tea audibly quickly, whenever Cryl was around.

“Cryl, tell me.” began Blaze. “Can you tell me if anything has been troubling Aja recently?”   
“Oh! There was this one girl, and her name was Lois…”   
Aja quickly threw Cryl down the stairs.   
“What a sudden reaction!” laughed Blaze. “Tell me, what is the relationship you have with this girl?”   
“What relationship?!” she flusters. “There is no relationship! She is just a horrible and impossibly stupid idiot!”

“Horrible, you say? So what has this Lois been doing to you then?”   
“She has been challenging me left and right for days in a row! She gets a free pass right through my idiot disciples, and runs right for me!!”   
“So you are saying you are afraid for her safety?”   
“She keeps running to her death every time! How can I not be afraid over a small defenceless creature like her!? It is her fault for being weak and unprotected to begin with!!!”

Blaze can’t help but giggle in how easy she is to be played. “So, are you saying you don’t want to harm her if possible?”   
“If I lose, she will force me into marriage! How can I possibly be taken with such a sloppy move like that!? Don’t I look like someone more swayed by subtle methods?”   
“You are a very subtle person Aja.”   
“Thank you.”   
“So, in conclusion, are you saying she matters more than your dojo position?”   
Aja had just realised what she had admitted, and planted her head into the table, now bright red.

“Well, don’t worry Aja. I have just the solution for you!”   
“Really? Wait. What is the catch.”   
“No catch! I will take pictures of you two kissing on my own accord after the marri…”   
The janitors groaned once again, as they hear someone being thrown once again through the exact same wall.

* * *

 

“Oshy? Has anything happened while I was unconscious?”   
He looked away into the distance.   
“Hello?”   
“Nothing.” he replied, detached.

It was a weird sight for this outspoken Oshawott to be so silent, especially while on cleaning duty. Doesn’t he just complain non-stop? With each scrub of his worn out broom, the listless and empty reaction he gave was beginning to scare Lois.

“We have dinner in the mess hall in an hour. Do you want to finish early so we can get food? I could get you your favourite! Do you want your notebook back!?”   
No response. Lois knew something extremely major happened if even the thought of mermaids doesn’t permeate his attention.   
“Wait… Did you meet Prima?”   
He twitched.

Of course! How dumb could she be! Why did she awake in the dojo, instead of back at the guild’s medical ward? Prima had to personally heal her! If only she could see Oshy’s face at full view of Prima. Did he hide? Did he faint? Or, did he just began praying? Lois was desperate to find out.

“I wonder if her presence was overwhelming. Did you control yourself?”   
Oshy was becoming restless.   
“Oh? Was my guess right? I can’t get an answer until you begin talking!~~”   
His face was building bright red.   
“Should I go up there and just ask? The dojo is only a 15 minute walk away…”   
He punched her, right into her face.

Lois flew two entire meters backwards, trying to hold the blood leaking from her nose.   
“HEY!! That hurt a lot! Why did you do that?”   
“Yes. Exactly. Why did you do that?”   
“What?”   
“Why did you decide to leave me behind? Why did you decide to go on without me?”   
“What are you on about?” she said, still rolling on the ground.

“You were near death after refusing to get medical attention after the fight had ended. I assumed you were fine, as always, but I should have seen the signs. Your suicide technique of blasting yourself with your own move caused a hemorrhage!”   
“Well, I am fine now! What is the big deal anymore!?”   
Oshy punched Lois again, as he began to cry.

“What is the big deal?!” he wailed. “I don’t know myself why I am crying as such. You have always been the one to run off into danger, leaving me behind to save you. I have always been there to save you when you needed it. However, this afternoon reminded me this cannot go on forever.”

There was another hit, as the dinner bell rang throughout the halls. “I know you aren’t good with listening, so if words cannot get through, please let my message ring true for just long enough for you to finally get through.”

As he began walking to the mess hall, he wiped his tears. “We only have so much time. Please let me cherish it together.”

* * *

 

“Reporting to Aja, over the daily report!” announced the Slowking.   
“Just get it over with Lowery. I am not in a good mood.”   
“I do need your full attention ma’am, or else you may miss vital information.”   
“What vital information?”   
“Regarding Lois possibly?”   
Aja suddenly sat straight.

It was when the sun touched the horizon, where the evening ushers the day to a close. The sun sets in the west, as the orange sky begins turning to its nocturnal black. The sea to the east is veiled with its deep blue, cloaking the details of still audible waves in the distance.

“What is this about Lois? Did she try and visit me again, even after hours? Is she that desperate to see the one and only again?”   
Lowery can’t help but marvel at how much self-delusional confidence she has, with Lois visiting her so often. “Well, no. This is about the damages to the dojo’s main floor.”   
“Was today’s tremors because of her perchance?”   
“Well, with her fight with Swampy.”   
“That idiot! What have I told him about using ground type moves indoors! Wait. Is Lois okay?”

“This is where the report goes into detail:   
  
The ground lobby was swept into turmoil, when clashes of water and ground moves occured. The challenger, Lois, was observed in combat, as Swampy was declared the loser of their impromptu duel.”   
“Are you telling me, that blithering fool lost even when he could use both of his move types? Arceus help me please.”

“The fight progressed on for approximately 5 minutes, gradually building as more people evacuated. The building was kept in place with assistance of Lowery, so me, using my psychic ability to dampen the tremors on the building itself.”   
“You need more practice then. My shelf was at risk of falling over.”

“The fight ended with a large tsunami, which Lois managed to dodge, and incapacitate Swampy with a neck attack. Lois was observed to have sustained fatal injuries…”   
“FATAL?!?!?” she screamed.

“Well, no. Prima was there to…”   
“WHO ALLOWED THE COMBAT TO PROGRESS TO A DEATH BATTLE?!”   
“According to Prima, she drowned herself with water to raise her internal body pressure to help withstand the tsunami without fainting. She suffered from abdominal bleed…”   
“I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE DETAILS!! IS SHE OKAY?!”   
“Yes! Prima was there to heal the injured back to full health. Lois’ Oshawott friend carried her unconcious back to the guild for further medical attention.”

Aja sighed in relief, glad that nothing permanent had happened to Lois.   
“Well, there was a small drought near the north, which I was in charge of mitigating damages for this morning, but I guess I have to do that tomorrow. Can you notify Lois not to come so early this time…”   
Lowery’s message doesn’t seem to be getting to Aja, as her face was one of contained, but hellish rage.

“WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS BEING THAT UNBELIEVABLY RECKLESS!!! I WILL GO OVER AND SPEAK MY MIND TO HER MYSELF!!!” She dashed off full speed, jumping through the dojo walls, making her beeline to the guild.   
“Remember to use stealth!” reminded Lowery. “The dojo could be ambushed if they see the dojo leader leaving!”

* * *

 

The silence from the halls leaked into her room, as Lois skipped dinner. Her window was east facing to the ocean, with the dojo clearly visible in the distance. The orange sky behind her was setting, as she looked out into the seasonal air. Despite the calm atmosphere, a Buizel was picturing this serenity.

“Why am I frustrated?” she ranted. “I got a nosebleed from that! Who knew the first person who land a full front hit on my face would be him! I swear if he just wanted to punch me, he could have asked!”

Her mind was in tatters, recoiling from Oshy’s reaction. Not just his comments, but he was creating a waterfall of tears in his wake. Did her teasing hit something she shouldn’t have? Is there something deeper about mermaids that she missed about Oshy?

As she took a deep breath, the moon began to rise from the sea’s distant horizon. “No. He hasn’t cried like this since I first met him all the way back. He was a volunteer from the town near where I was enslaved, and followed Blast’s team to see my recovery. I remember his voice while I was unconscious and bleeding out, begging me to stay alive until they get back.”

The sky simply twinkled, as the moonlight cast a larger shadow through her window. The wind began to blow inwards, as distant ocean-dwelling clouds began sailing closer. “Oh no. This is why.” She finally recalled what had happened back at the dojo. Her unconscious body, bleeding out. Oshy had to face that again.

A sharp ringing entered her head, as the moonlight is cloaked by the clouds above. “I don’t want to see my closest friend cry like this! Where did my desire and love take me down this route? Is there anyone that can tell me?”

A loud voice rang loud through her head, full of anger. “Since the beginning, you were a megalomaniac. You craved power, because of your lack of it. You survived the dungeon by making it deeper than anyone else, just to get enough to survive. Your love is but a fake illusion, covering the destruction you leave in your desperate attempts to take control of everything!”

“I am sorry! Oshy, Aja, Prima, everyone! I am sorry!” Lois was on her knees, trying to find any form of forgiveness, but there was no response. As the moonlight revealed her posters again, she slammed the windows shut.

* * *

 

The late, moonlit forest surrounding Blast’s Guild, frames just how large it is. From the outside, it looks small, but an observant person would notice the building pokes out of the mountain behind it. That is because most of the building is tucked away underground. For design or aesthetic reasons however, most sleeping rooms are above ground.

If Aja had to comment on her current actions, it would be hypocritical to call Lois a creep anymore. She was peering through the windows trying to spot which room is the Buizel’s residency. With the large number of possible rooms to check, and a likelihood that she isn’t in her room, it felt more and more like a wasted effort. However, there was nothing which could stop Aja from giving her a good scolding!

Wait, someone is coming outside! Had someone spotted her? Aja slipped further into the shadows in anticipation. Wait, orange fur, yellow ring, light flowery scent… This is Lois! This is strange, Aja thought. Why is she leaving the guild at such a late time?

The night hid the two of them, as the forrest separated them further and further from the guild. The eerie hollow wind of the twilight began transitioning to night. At closer inspection, Lois was carrying a large box. Aja is puzzled by her intentions. Is that a gift for her? If so, she isn’t going towards the dojo.

Then, in a clearing, she stopped? Why is she opening her box in the middle of the woods? What is inside? Oh my, scandalous! Aja couldn’t help but blushing, over the large number of rolled up posters and drawings of herself! How did she even get so many! Is that a body pillow with her face taped on it? Lois was arranging them in the dirt, careful not to damage any off them, as she constructed a large pile of everything she had. Is this some sort of summoning?

“Aja? Are you out there?” she thinks aloud. Aja nearly fell out of her tree from the surprise.   
“I am not sure if this will be of any meaning to you, but I hope that at least my own sins and wrong doings will be resolved.”   
What does Lois want? Did something happen Aja missed? This was all too sudden. Wait what she doing now?

A large flame erupted from the pile, which now glowed in the forest clearing. No! All of those pictures!

“Aja? I need to apologise.” she began, kneeling in front of the fire. “I need to apologise to you, and everyone I have inconvenienced or disturbed over all of these weeks. I am ashamed of myself for not realizing this sooner, but I cannot continue fooling myself and others over this false love.”

Aja was unable to stay put in the trees, conflicted across many emotions.   
“Since I could remember, I didn’t have the best life. I struggled hard under constant fear of being abandoned and killed by the only hand which fed me while I was enslaved. I learnt, that the only thing I could rely on, was raw strength. It was what allowed me to survive the many layers of the dungeon. I kept fighting deeper, way further than I needed to. I leveled up for the sole reason, of taking control of myself. I grew delusional, inching ever closer to death each time for that small increase in reward.”

She continued, beginning to cry. “I am sorry Oshy! I promised you when you woke me up for the first time as a free pokemon, that I would never lose myself again! He would see me suffer every day from the nearby town, and vowed to rescue me if he could! I threw his wish away, and for what!?”

Lois stood up, trying to wipe the tears from her face. “I saw you Aja, standing above everyone else, powerful and graceful. I was entranced by your beauty and fell in love, but this wasn’t true. Soon, this lust turned into greed, as I my desire for your power and position grew over time. I am foolish to still believe in true love. I am just a naive little child. But, despite all of that, I still thank you, Aja.”

Aja was shocked by this sudden shift in tone. “I thank you, for being a beacon of hope. You were the guiding force, allowing me to gradually adjust to the guild, integrating with the community in trying to challenge you. You have shown me that fighting was not something just for survival, but for others. I have bonded with you in a way I never had with anyone else. Each and every time you killed me put a new smile on my face as I fought for something I finally cared about.”

Lois opened her eyes, tears finally running out. “I have matured, and now I understand that while I will continue to fight on, I have people who care about me now. Oshy doesn’t want me to die before him after all.”

Aja was trying her best not to cry. Despite wanting to kill her just minutes ago, she is now holding in her emotions over this annoying girl who just doesn’t understand herself. It must be an embarrassment to see such an old hag like her cry over youthful love stories like this.

Wait, is Lois looking towards her? Wait, it is impossible for her to notice. Aja should be hidden completely in the shadows!

The fire!

* * *

 

“Ah!” chuckled Lois, nervously. Is that Aja? Why is she all the way out here? Was she listening to everything she said!?

“Erm, hello Aja! Sorry about all of the words! I should have told you about the large collection of posters and drawings I collected about you over the months, but the that would have been creepier, wouldn’t it but it still isn’t as creepy as… ah!?”

Aja had come down from her branch, and is hugging Lois deeply. Lois’ feet were pick up off of the ground, as the Greninja puller her tighter in. The once stoic dojo master, has been reduced to a silent mess, trying her best to stay calm amidst her tears.   
“Aja?”   
“Yes Lois?” she sniffled.   
“I don’t have any more tears to give you.”   
“That is okay.” she reassured.   
The two of them embraced, unable to communicate in anything but solemn and mutual cuddling.

“It is fine Aja, you can let go of me now. Aja?”   
The Greninja fell over on top of her, arms still holding tight around the little Buizel. A gentle snoring grumbled from her unconscious body. Lois tried to get out of her grip, but after proving impossible, she fell asleep in her arms.

* * *

 

“So, Lois’ footprints seem to leed pretty far into the forest. Prima, do you have any idea where they are going?”   
“Well dear, you just told me Aja had run off, and we need to find her.”   
“Well still Lowery, don’t you think we should have brought Swampy and Paras along?”   
“We can’t have everyone leave the dojo! Paras would do fine on her own anyways!”   
“I smell smoke. Is that them up ahead?”

The three disciples ran into the forest clearing, and were treated to quite a sight indeed. Two pokemon, next to a pile of warm ashes, sleeping in each other’s arms.

* * *

 

“Don’t worry little one. No matter what, I will care for you.”

The young Froakie had never heard such kind words said so sincerely before. The Espeon’s motherly face, had taken her in after she was cast aside by her family. A rare genetic disease with Greninja, are the balance between their natural affinities, leans too far to dark, which their bodies cannot handle. This leads to them to naturally leak curses into both themselves and their surroundings, with a very low chance of survival past childhood.

“I will protect you from everyone, including yourself. Whenever you are scared, just call my name!”

Her name was Jasmine, named after her purple fur. She was rather talented, someone who used to work for a guild. She had left her job to a village town, growing crops, and just so happened to encounter an abandoned frog on the roadside.

“Did you know psychic is naturally weak against dark energy? It has to do with how psychic moves call energy from the world, and dark energy preventing this calling from happening!”

She was a caretaker you couldn’t have asked more from. She raised the child as her own, teaching her the rules and facts of the world. Despite never teaching combat directly, she recounted her times back at the guild, and told of grand stories about the world.

“We are running a bit low on funds right now, so I may be outside a little bit longer.”

The illness however, had progressed without anyone noticing. Psychic seals on the child were maintained to catch any outbursts of dark energy which could cause damages. As the situation continued to deteriorate, the energy required to maintain these seals grew and grew.

“Don’t worry about me little one. I traded for some good nutritious carrots for you, so I hope you can grow up strong!”

The upkeep cost of both food and maintenance as the leaking dark energy began breaking everything around it, became more than a single retired pokemon could handle. The Espeon decided enough was enough, and decided to return to the guild for medical assistance.

“Hold on just a bit longer okay? We will make it! I promise you that Blaze will understand the situation!”

They didn’t make it. The seal broke, with no more energy left to maintain it. The seal had built up vast amounts of darkness within it, and threatened to kill both of them on the spot if not treated immediately. There was one final source of energy which an experienced pokemon could use, which was their own supply of aura. This however, unfortunately, could only be used once.

“Mama?”

The excess dark energy was fully transferred from the Froakie to her surrogate mother, saving the child from certain death. The greatly reduced volume of dark energy was able to be permanently suppressed by a powerful aura seal. The young one was cured, but at what cost?

“Aja, your name was? Hello, my name is Blaze. I believe Jasmine had come out of hiding to help you. Don’t worry, I owe her a big favor. I will take care for you.”

Her corpse was given an unmarked grave, as to preserve her anonymity. With a family which rejected her, and her caretaker killed in front of her, the child grew up in pain. Her large imbalance meant her water moves were near useless, with even basic moves being hard to utilize. She progressed at an unparalleled speed, slowly becoming one of the strongest water types the world had ever seen. Only then, would she be able to release the seal on which held her greatest weakness, and be able to control it into her greatest strength.

* * *

 

“Wake up Aja! You overslept again!”   
The cheeky Floatzel slapper her again in the face.   
“I have breakfast on your table all nice and ready. I hope today’s carrot and potato soup tastes better than yesterday’s!”

“Ugh. Can you wake me up properly next time?”   
“There is no other way to wake you from your rock slumbers! You know I have a meeting today Aja!”   
“I don’t want to eat anything this morning Lois.” she groaned.   
“Awww… Did you get that dream again?”   
“Just old memories this time.”   
Lois kissed the poor Greninja on the forehead. “I hope that can make you feel better!”

“Thanks.” Aja replied blank-faced.   
“I got to go to the guild first to pick up some materials! I will make your favourite Oran berry drink for tonight okay?”   
“Will you be okay in the meetings?”   
“You are too worried about me! Those town head morons can’t touch this smooth talker here!” she gloats, gesturing to herself.

As Lois runs off with her toast in her mouth, Aja goes down stairs through her indoor garden. The indoor space had been barren for years, but thanks to Aja’s free time from Lois splitting her workload, she had managed to raise a small little flower garden in a spare room. The windows were large, allowing sunlight to twinkle through the room at all times, giving a gentle glisten to the growing buds, waiting for spring.

“Are you there Jasmine?”   
The Greninja slowly walks to the centre of the room, where sits a large ornamental box, with a flower on top.   
“Open.” she says, removing the psychic seal placed on the box, as she opens the heavy, hinged lid.   
The contents spilled dark energy out, slowly wilting the flowers around it. Aja quickly began suppressing it using her psychic abilities, slowly clearing the darkness which flowed from the box.

“After all these years alone, I had found the courage to create a proper grave for you. It took a year of searching, but thanks to a special someone I have met, I was able to finally locate where you were buried all those years ago.”   
The box was now clear enough to peer inside. The bones were the long forgotten remains of the person who sacrificed her life to keep Aja alive. Even after all of these years, her remains were still cursed because of the vast amounts of dark energy it holds.   
“I apologise you had to suffer for so many years, but I hope that with your purification, you can go on to the afterlife, with the knowledge that you have found rest in this one.”

After about an hour of tending to the grave, Aja slowly watered and rejuvenated the flowers around the room. The skies began turning dark, when a familiar loud noise returned home.   
“Hi Aja! I knew you would still be here!”   
“Hello Lois.”   
“Did you skip lunch again?! I can’t have you doing this! Do you want me to have to leave the meeting halfway through just to bring it down to the garden or what?”   
Aja chuckles a bit. “I will just have to eat it with dinner, and of course with you.”   
Lois, despite being with Aja for nearly year, still blushes uncontrollably with the teasing.

“Lois?”   
“Yeah?”   
“How do you want to celebrate our 1 year anniversary?”   
“Oh my god! If I had to choose, I just want to laze about. But after all, you are the Demon of the Water dojo, so Arceus knows I can’t just leave you hanging!”   
“How about, I run the meeting this time? Just for you?”   
Lois squealed with happiness noises, because for once, both of them had found the demon they cherished.


End file.
